Sheep distribution scam case: ED conducts searches in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, July 30 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Hyderabad in connection with the sheep distribution scam case.

The agency is probing the alleged irregularities in the sheep distribution and development scheme implemented during the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

The searches were carried out at premises linked to several accused, including G. Kalyan Kumar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav and Sabavath Ramachander, former managing director of the Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperative Federation (TSSGDCF).

Kalyan has been named in one of the FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which estimated the scam to be worth around Rs 700 crore.

The ED last year initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on the FIRs filed by the ACB.

The ED registered a money laundering case in June 2024 and began collecting documents from the animal husbandry department and the Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperative Federation (TSSGDCF), including beneficiary lists, vendor details, transport records, and payment files.

The state government launched the scheme in April 2017 to provide sustainable livelihoods to the traditional shepherd families and improve their economic standard.

Under the first phase, each family was given 20 sheep and a ram with a unit cost of Rs 1.25 lakh on a 75 per cent subsidy. Over 1.28 crore sheep were reportedly distributed, and an expenditure of Rs 4,980.31 crore was incurred.

About 82.74 lakh sheep were procured from other States and distributed among 3.92 lakh members of the Primary Sheep Breeders Co-operative Societies (PSBCS).

However, investigations later revealed that significant amounts were misappropriated through inflated procurement bills, fake transportation records, and benami accounts.

The ACB launched an investigation in January 2024 into the sheep distribution scheme following allegations that some beneficiaries were cheated.

A case was registered in December 2023 after some people filed complaints against the officials and middlemen, including two assistant directors of the animal husbandry department and two contractors.

The ACB has booked several government officials, including Sabavath Ramachander and Kalyan Kumar. The funds meant for the scheme were allegedly siphoned off using forged bank accounts and shell vendors.

--IANS

ms/svn